Good column. Ever-lengthier movie production credits seem to be equally driven by ballooning production costs and gigantic Hollywood egos.
I noticed a typo at the start of the last paragraph:
“The big push to establish this mark began after Shakespeare in Love won Best Picture in 1995 and five whole people showed up onstage to collect their **trophiesa **skeleton crew by today’s standards…”
Looks like a dash is needed between the bolded words.
I’m curious as to why some credits include initials after the person’s name, e.g., the cinematographer will often add A.S.C. to his name. After all, the actors don’t add S.A.G. to their credit, assuming they are actually members.
Also, when was it decided, and by who, that director’s would get final mention in the opening credits, as well as that silly early credit "A film by . . . ".
Finally, when did movie makers decide to drop the redundant “The End” screenshot?
Fixed.
Thanks!
I know some of these.
A.S.C. is an invitation-only professional society, whereas SAG-AFTRA is a union.
“A film by…” was the result of a long, hard-fought battle, and there are still very strong feelings about it.
What’s “CSA” in film credits? “Casting mumblemumble”, I assume.
Also, when was the switch from having all the credits at the beginning to the modern model, and why?
I’ve always wondered why people on duty with the Confederate States Army are making movies.
Movies as far back as Citizen Kane have used end credits instead of opening credits. The trend accelerated, however, after the Star Wars movies (George Lucas famously quit the DGA for the fact they fined him over having omitted the director’s credit from the opening of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back). The '80s saw increasing use of end credits only.
From Wikipedia: Billing.
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
What do movie production credits mean?
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/...n-credits-mean
Good column. Ever-lengthier movie production credits seem to be equally driven by ballooning production costs and gigantic Hollywood egos.
I noticed a typo at the start of the last paragraph:
“The big push to establish this mark began after Shakespeare in Love won Best Picture in 1995 and five whole people showed up onstage to collect their trophiesa skeleton crew by today’s standards…”
Looks like a dash is needed between the bolded words.
[/QUOTE]
Shakespeare in Love won in 1999 (for the year 1998)
It was *Forrest Gump *who won in the 1995 ceremony.
If you mean for the year 1995; then Braveheart won (in a ceremony which took place in 1996)
I don’t know; this column seemed like the sort of thing that would make perfect sense to anyone who already knew the answer. For instance, if the producer has the ultimate artistic control, then what’s the distinction between the producer and the director? If the producer is in charge of how the money is spent, then what’s the distinction between the producer and the investor? Does the investor have any special title in the credits?
Chronos, most of what you ask is governed by private contracts between parties. The duties of each functionary don’t have a fixed definition in law. Often the party with the most clout gets to dictate their own position and even control someone else’s position. The job is not spelled out like an elected official’s is.
That shouldn’t matter. If I tell you that my job is “inventory control specialist,” you have a pretty good, if perhaps vague, idea right away about what I do. It’s the same with most jobs outside of the entertainment industry.
There’s your trouble right there. Movies are (more or less) artistic but on the other hand, are a collaborative effort. This means colliding egos and a multitude of ways to soothe them.
The producer is the one in charge of the money being spent, but it’s not his money, it’s the investors.